Monuments reveal

Work by sculptors Sergei Gorshkov and Yuri Astapchenko – Therapeutic chair and other unusual monuments of Voronezh

Therapeutic chair and other unusual monuments of Voronezh

In the Black Earth capital of Russia – the city of Voronezh there are many historical monuments. But how pleasant it is for a person to see something unusual, interesting and little-known! So, I bring to your attention several unique and unusual monuments of Voronezh. And first of them is “Therapeutic chair”. According to the creators of the sculpture, “Therapeutic chair” relieves people of greed, which often affects the local residents.
The author of the first sketch of the monument was the local artist Alexander Nozhkin. Unfortunately, he tragically died in the 1990s. However, the artist’s friends – Sergei Gorshkov and Yuri Astapchenko continued his idea in the shortest time. They cast the monument at the bell factory, and the sculpture weighing 220 kg and a height of 1.5 meters appeared in the park, near the Government House. In addition, near the miraculous chair they put a poster with the biography of A. Nozhkin and a detailed description how to use the monument. According to the description, there are 2 ways of cure. First, people should sit down on the “Medical Chair” or touch it with their hands. In any case, the effect of cure will be one hundred percent.
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Monument to the children of Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Sculptor Igor Akimov. Installed November 16, 2011

Monument to the children of Russian Tsar Nicholas II was solemnly unveiled on the territory of the Orthodox monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers on Ganina Yama on November 16, 2011. Besides, it is the site of a mine in which the remains of the royal family and their confidants were discovered.
The author of the bronze monument – Igor Vladimirovich Akimov, Ural sculptor, teacher at the Ural State Architectural Academy. The height of the monument is about three meters, and the weight is almost three tons. According to the author’s intention, counted to the rank of holy martyrs, the royal children Princesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Prince Alexei as if descending from heaven with crosses in their hands on an inclined stone slab that serves as a pedestal. However, not exactly.
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Monument to the hero of the novel by Jonathan Swift ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ in the courtyard of the Philological Faculty of St. Petersburg State University. Sculptor Timur Yusufov, 2007. Giants and Liliputs inspired monuments

Giants and Liliputs inspired monuments and parks
Monument to the hero of the novel by Jonathan Swift ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ appeared in the courtyard of the Philological Faculty of St. Petersburg State University in November 2007. Monument to literary character – a kind of embodiment of infinity and relativity. A succession of bronze Gullivers, decreasing in size – the creation of the sculptor Timur Yusufov.
However, if you want to feel like a Gulliver, you may do it in opened in Manhattan park of miniature world attractions called “Gulliver’s Gate.” With the main monuments of mankind from now on you can get acquainted without leaving New York. Located in the vicinity of the Times Square layout, the park features all the iconic architectural structures of the world. In particular, there are more than 300 attractions – from the Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall to the Coliseum and the Dome of the Rock. Visitors will also be able to see the lost heritage of ancient civilizations such as, for example, the Colossus of Rhodes. Visitors will enjoy the miniature architecture of the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, Great Wall of China, St. Basil’s Cathedral, and other world architectural monuments
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Fragment of Three Graces, Spring, Botticelli. Three Graces monuments and sculptural compositions

Three Graces monuments and sculptural compositions
Many masterpieces of sculpture live throughout the centuries, and sometimes even millennia have enjoyed constant success. Their attraction, thanks to beauty and inner meaning, remains unchanged at all times and for all peoples. As a rule, these masterpieces survive to our time through replicas created often after the lapse of centuries after the emergence of the original idea and its implementation. The same as it’s impossible to count the diamonds in stone caves, one can’t count how many monuments and sculptural compositions on the plot of “Three Gracia” exist all over the world.
How did the theme of the Three Graces appeared in the world? It originates from ancient Greek mythology. The Charites, as goddesses of grace, charms and beauty, were inspiration muses, close to art. In Roman mythology they were called graces (Latin gratia – “charm, grace, attraction, gratitude”). In ancient Rome, the graces are the wonderful companions of Venus and Aphrodite. They give mortals gaiety, dexterity, a pleasant disposition of the spirit, as well as generosity and prudence. Their attributes are a rose, a myrtle or an apple.
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French science fiction writer Jules Verne monument in Nizhny Novgorod. Sculptor Fanil Valiullin

French science fiction writer Jules Verne monument appeared in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia 27 September, 2015. Meanwhile, made of plastic painted in bronze color, the monument to the great French writer became the first installed in Russia. The sculptor depicted Jules Verne flying in a hot-air balloon, and in his hand he is holding a Spyglass. The figure of the writer in human growth stands in the basket of a balloon. Together with the balloon, the monument is a composition about 10 meters high. The sculpture was installed on the initiative of a construction company, which has a housing complex in the city, named after a French writer.
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4 July 2014. Vladivostok. Monument to American woman Eleanor Lord Pray who lived here for 36 years. Sculptor Alexei Bokiy, St. Petersburg

Monument to American woman Eleanor Lord Pray, who lived in Vladivostok, Russia for 36 years – from July 1894 to December 1930. The grand opening of the sculpture took place on July 4, just on the Independence Day of the United States. In addition, it was on the eve of the festivities in honor of the birthday of Vladivostok – the capital of Far East of Russia. Depicted descending from the steps Eleanor Pray, as if hurrying to the city post office, where she went, almost daily for 36 years, sending letters to her relatives in the US. In her letters, she described in detail the city at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. Jokingly called by the locals “the first blogger of Vladivostok”, Eleonora Prey created a chronicle of the life of that time. Noteworthy, she also made about a thousand unique photographs. Later, her relatives found these letters and published a book about the old Vladivostok, which became a bestseller.
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11 meter cross made of wrought copper, and mounted on a stone base 3.5 m high in Cheremisinovo, Kursk region. On the sketch of People’s Artist of Russia, Honored sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov. Behind Russian monumental wayside crosses

Behind Russian monumental wayside crosses

First of all, the tradition to establish monumental crosses outside the temple comes back to ancient times. Made of stone or wood, they have a height of several meters. Such crosses call for prayer and worship of the Savior, and therefore called worshipers. Put for various reasons, the first worshiping crosses appeared in apostolic times. According to their spiritual significance, they were missionary. In particular, Nestor the chronicler in the “Tale of Bygone Years” mentions the installation of crosses by the holy apostle Andrew the First-Called on the Kiev mountains. And also on Valaam after the overthrow of the idols of Perun and Veles.
Meanwhile, the aim of wayside crosses differs – from thankful, or memorable, to providing safety, from used as chapels, and to primitive (navigation). However, the division of crosses into different species (as well as many other divisions) is rather arbitrary. Often the same worship cross could be both a vowal, a boundary, and a protective one.
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